Melted
by Miss Sleepy
Summary: Her usual happy facade melted as she saw him. Melted as she saw him win. Melted as she felt her emotional barriers breaking and the bottle filled with her darkest and deepest thoughts began to spill over. Her emotions became the sea she drowned in.


All she could hear was screaming and cheering. It was cheering of congratulations and excitement for the spectacle the audience was granted to see. She could not hear any other hollers of "Great Job, May!" or "That was the best battle I have ever seen!" What her ears heard were overpowered by what her eyes saw.

As soon as the black, ashy cloud cleared up, it revealed the whole battlefield, her opponent and his pokemon, and the judging panel with the MC. To her, the reveal was a cloudy day transformed into a lightning storm. She saw her beloved Glaceon, dressed with scratches and bruises, collapsed onto the dirt. Her beautiful partner gave it her all, but it was not enough to defeat her opponent before her.

A handsome Absol glistened through the dirt and exhaustion, and let out a fierce roar before his trainer gave him his sincere congratulations. The trainer who gave May a run for her money. The trainer whose name and picture sharply appear on big screen. The trainer whose image will burn in every coordinator and viewer across the nation as a model or a rival. More importantly, the trainer who defeated May on the field and in her heart.

"The winner of the Goldenrod City's Contest is…DREW HAYDEN AND HIS AMAZING ABSOL!" The female MC joyfully bellowed into mic and followed by a louder applause than moments ago. Suddenly the main focus of the event shifted from the end results of the battle to the winner of the battle. Every gaze is pointed towards the green-haired coordinator and his suave yet injured partner or following the tall, alluring hostess holding the prize on a small royal purple pillow.

Through her headset, she announced and awarded Drew with a simple yet dainty ribbon charm as well as the next context in Ecruteak City. During the ending announcement, May quietly walked towards the exit door to firmly blocked the noise and to deal with her depressing lost. May was glad she put on a magnificent show for the crowd but it was not enough for her to ignore her broken heart.

For May, this contest provided an opportunity to earn her fourth ribbon and a confidence boost to stand on the same footing as her friendly rivals. She was taken back to see one of her rivals, Drew, participating in this contest as she expected him to earn his four ribbons so far. Following his sudden appearance in the contest, her nerves started to go haywire as she witness his appeal performance scoring better than her thus creating a huge gap between him and her. She was determined to not let this gap be the death of her but as she continues to watch his battles during her free time, her anxiety increase and increase after every win. She even had a moment to retch some of her nerves into the toilet before her final battle.

With this loss, she made another trip to the toilet. Fortunately, the women's restroom was empty so May locked the door and release all of her pent up emotions in the room. Feelings of insecurities about her decision to travel alone in an unknown region, her adequate abilities to provide food for herself and her pokemon (sometimes to save money, she skips a meal), her costly mistakes to narrowly earn her ribbons, days of creative block, and other small insecurities. All her fears and anxiety have accumulated and doubled to the state she is in. Her pale pink veil toss on the ground, the various screams that made outsiders avoid the certain bathroom, and her perfectly groomed hair altered into a disheveled bird's ness by her dainty hands. May turned this empty bathroom into a her sanctuary to unleash her grief and sorrow.

Drew, who finished with the ending ceremony and a small meeting with the various fans from the stands, is walking towards the locker room to change out of his stage outfit. He found the locker room empty, except for a lone yellow backpack in a semi-opened locker. "I guess everyone left since there is nothing to stay for." Drew thought as he scanned the room for anyone.

Drew took a five-second count to hear for any voice but nothing. The silence was comforting to Drew as the lack of sound allowed his thoughts to increase in volume. As Drew is undressing and ponder over the possible appeal combinations with his other pokemon, he hear a distinct cry. Curious, he quickly finished changing, rapidly gathered his belongings, and took meek steps around the lockers to pinpoint the distress. With more soft steps, he allowed the rising volume of the sobbing guide him to the women's restroom. With a hasty glance at his surroundings, Drew firmly grasped the bathroom's handle but only to discovered the door's stubborn attitude. This inflexible obstacle was not going to stop him from helping a crying trainer so Drew firmly knock on the door three times.

"Hello?" His greeting decreased the loud sobbing to a muffled sniffle.

"I'm sorry! Give me a sec!" May struggled to say.

After the shaky reply following with the door opening, Drew discovered the source of wailing to be his longtime rival, May Maple. As if they were affected by stun spore, Drew and May stood still inches away from each other. Drew broke out of his bewildered state and quickly took in May's puffy eyes and chaotic hair. Through the gap of the door, he can spy a hints of her veil on the floor.

While Drew surveyed her appearance, a invisible hypnotist brought May back into reality. Dread and embarrassment settled and multiplied quickly in her mind. She did not want to deal with her rival so she rapidly shifted her eyes to seek an escape. To her misfortune, there weren't any exits so she moved to plan B—avoid his gaze and keep the conversation short. Unfortunately her plan did not include perceiving Drew's unwavering concern.

"Congratulations. I best get going to the next town." May managed to squeak with less uncertainty than before.

Drew was about to immediately express gratitude but held back, knowing it would not solve the situation. "Are you okay?"

"Just dandy! Peachy keen even!" It was the first time since the final battle Drew can see May's face with a forced smile. Trying and failing to forget her embarrassment, May hope Drew could accept her small lie and allow her to escape.

Drew didn't. "You are not okay. Don't tell me this match is the one that got to you."

May hesitated to reply because she could not denied it. This match, this loss, was the one that broke her. It tipped her over the iceberg and Lugia made the sea swallowed her all up. Before she knew it, May was tasting wet salt and shaking like a leaf.

Drew felt guilty for making that obnoxious comment but he could not let his rival buried and bottled up this sorrow. He would have not bothered with reaching out to her because he knew she can always pick herself up. However, tonight does not feel right. He felt this defeat was not the only issue she had, and he was right. Although they were rivals, she meekly gave out one command.

"Drew, please stay."

Drew allowed her tears to stain his black t-shirt as his embrace consoled the mournful coordinator.

Night had fallen and the town was covered in a dark blanket saved for the street lamps that illuminated most of the streets. After the tearful consolidation, May accepted Drew's offer to walk her back to the Pokemon Center. Drew wished he could assist more to lift May's spirits but all she allowed him to do was carry her backpack. May felt guilty enough for ruining Drew's casual shirt, despite his reassurance that his shirt could survive anything. It was after a couple of his pleading, she allowed him to carry her bag with her costume and other necessities.

They were enjoying the peaceful night scenic stroll when Drew noticed an open area with a lake behind the Pokemon Center.

"Would you care for a redemption battle?" suggested Drew in hopes it would get May out of her rut. She was terribly silent during the stroll that Drew almost believed he was walking alone. Seconds later, May agreed to the battle.

Both coordinators took their positions on the field and called out their recent pokemon.

"Glaceon, Take the stage!"

"Absol, Let's Go!"

Both creatures roared and recognized their purpose to be called upon. As soon as Glaceon saw Absol and Drew, she communicated her insecurities and humiliation to May but May reassured and encouraged her to use this battle as practice for next contest.

"Glaceon, I understand but Drew and Absol are not here to embarrassed you. They want to help us by offering us a second chance. Let's forget about today and focus on the future. Okay?" With May's confident and heartfelt words, Glaceon cried in agreement and took a fierce battle position. Drew and Absol were delighted to see and hear their willingness thus they shared a smile before Absol took his battle stance.

Neither trainer gave an order. It felt as if hours went by in the moonlit standoff until May made her first move.

"Glaceon, use Secret Power!" Glaceon launched her attack, which is powered by the full moon, towards the ever-waiting Absol.

"Absol, Cut that Attack with Razor Wind!" Absol quickly followed Drew's command and sliced the attack in half. As he parted the attack, the pokemon was surprised to see Glaceon bolting towards him.

"Glaceon, Iron Tail!" With the added speed, Glaceon jumped and pushed Absol back with her strong steel-powered tail. She jumped back to her side in anticipation for her opponent's next move after his recovery.

"Good Job, Glaceon!" May was glad that her plan to use Secret Power as a faint move in order to hide Glaceon's silent sprint. As May was sending her praise to Glaceon, Drew sent out his next two commands with a calculated gaze.

"Use Water Pulse and Razor Wind!" Absol began to surround his body with a burst of water emitting from the blue. As the water began to create a rapid vortex, Absol sent multiple moves of Razor Wind from his head. Drew hopes this combination would impaired his opponent's Glaceon before his Razor Wind damages it.

May smirked as she saw the water and told Glaceon to jump high in the air. Glaceon followed this command with all the grace she can muster, and mystified her opponent as fly to the moon.

"Mirror Coat!" Powered by the moonlight, Glaceon's body starts to shimmer and shine to effectively blind Drew and his partner. Quickly using their impairment to her advantage, May confidently shouted Glaceon's next move.

"Ice Shard on the ground!" Using her mouth, Glaceon started to charge a neon blue ball of light before releasing the powerful icy beam towards the moist ground thus freezing the whole ground and making a beautiful smooth ice rink.

With grace of an ice skater, Glaceon danced circles around the hostile Absol and a lost Drew.

"Finish it up with Shadow Ball!" With her increasing speed on the Glaceon-made ice rink, she blasted multiple shadowy blobs at the stranded Absol from multiple positions. Each accurate shot created more and more clouds of smoke. After what seem like forever, Glaceon skated back to her trainer while both trainers awaited for the smoke to clear. The white smoke cleared up and the result was a fainted Absol. A regretful Drew returned his pokemon back to his pokeball with a couple of words of condolences before turning his gaze to the battlefield. Although Drew was lost in the battle with May, he was able to remember his original intentions thus did not feel any remorse or need to say bitter words to his rivals. With a smile in his heart, he walks towards the happy coordinator and her pokemon.

May was shocked—that is an understatement. She was joyful, excited, happy, relieved, elevated, and many positive emotions. Her feelings were mutual with her winning partner as both individual shared a happy hug. She felt her confidence boost from the ground to the moon as she replayed the battle over and over in her head. Before Glaceon returned to her pokeball, May sent her grateful heartfelt congratulations.

Drew approached the recovering happy May with a smile and handshake. Overwhelmed with joy, she transformed the handshake to a full frontal hug.

"Thank you." May mustered with as much emotion as she could.

"You're welcome."


End file.
